Healing Bruises
by fantasticxfoursome
Summary: Dan has been in an abusive relationship for the past and has been too afraid to say anything to anybody. Phil walks in on Dan in the bathroom while he's shirtless and sees his bruises. Dan doesn't want to talk about it but Phil convinces him to, and he helps Dan get out of the abusive relationship that he's been for the past couple months.


Dan Howell sighed as he stood in front of the bathroom mirror, staring at himself, looking over at all the fresh bruises that currently covered his body. It had been quite a while since he's been standing in front of the mirror by himself. He always did this. He didn't know why, but he did.

It was currently a Saturday evening when Dan had just gotten back from being at his boyfriends house. He had been in a relationship for almost a year now. It wasn't the best relationship that he could possibly be in, but it was still a relationship and Dan was in love with the guy, despite all the bruises that were left on his body. Dan's boyfriend, Derrick, had been abusive the past couple months. Things were perfect at the beginning of their relationship. They were both in love with each other and they both seemed happy. Something happened and Derrick became more and more abusive whenever he was around Dan. Dan thought that things would get better after a while but they hadn't. Dan didn't want to give up on their relationship though, he just had hope that things would better even though he's been a couple months since this had been going on. Dan just didn't know how much more he could take of this hurt.

"Hey Dan? Are you in there?" Phil asked as he walked up to the bathroom. He opened it after waiting a few seocnds, and when he walked in, he was quite shocked about what he had saw in front of him. "Dan, oh my God-" Phil began to say.

"Phil, please... can we not-" Dan was shirtless, and all of his bruises were showing. Phil had no idea that Derrick had been being abusive to Dan. Dan didn't want Phil to worry about something when he already had a million other things to worry about in his own life. This was the very first time that Phil had seen any of Dan's bruises, and Dan didn't know how to feel about it. Everything was happening so fast and he didn't know how to react.

"Where the hell did all those bruises come from?" Phil asked as he pushed the door open and walked into the bathroom. He stared at Dan with shock, unable to take his eyes off of him. He could see that there were bruises all over Dan's arms, shoulders and chest, and the thought of Dan being hurt like that absolutely broke his heart. Phil wanted to know what was going on and how he could help.

"I don't want to talk about it," Dan said. He took a deep breath.

"No... we're talking about this whether you like it or not," Phil said.

"You can't make me!" Dan yelled. He went to walk out of the bathroom but he gasped as soon as Phil pulled him back. "Christ Phil!" Dan yelled as he pushed him away. Some of the bruises on his arm were from tonight, and they hurt like hell. But he didn't want Phil to know that.

"I-I'm sorry but... you're clearly hurting and I want to help you," Phil whispered.

"This has nothing to do with you," Dan whispered. He shook his head.

"It does Dan, you're my best friend," Phil told him, quietly but loud enough for Dan to hear.

"I appreciate, honestly, I really do Phil... that you're concerned about me but this is my problem and I need to fix it by myself so please just don't ask me about it, okay?" Dan said. "I'm old enough to take care of my own problems, and I just don't need-"

"Dan!" Phil yelled, cutting Dan off. He took a deep breath. "Who's doing this to you? Please, just... tell me the truth. Obviously another human being is hurting you." He said calmly.

"H-How do you know another human is doing this to me?" Dan asked quietly.

Phil rolled his eyes. He walked over to the door and he shut, and then he turned around and looked at Dan again. "Those are clearly from another human, Dan. Come on," He said.

Dan stared a Phil for a few seconds before his eyes started to water up. He didn't want to have to tell his best friend that he was being abused by his own boyfriend. Dan backed against the wall, leaned against it and slowly slid down the wall as a few tears slipped out of his eyes. This was almost as painful than actually being abused by Derrick.

"Dan?" Phil asked. He bent down so that he was now sitting on his knees.

"I'm such a fucking idiot!" Dan cried as he hid his face in his hands, letting more tears pour out of his eyes. Crying in front of Phil was the last thing that Dan wanted to do but, he couldn't help himself. He'd been holding everything in for so long that he just let it all out.

"You're not an idiot Dan, please don't say that," Phil said gently.

Dan shook his head. "This has been going on for months, and I haven't done anything to stop it, of course I'm an idiot Phil!" He cried. "B-But I love him." He whispered.

"Please don't tell me this is all because of Derrick," Phil whispered. Phil was well very aware of who Dan's boyfriend was. He had met Derrick a few times and he knew that Dan really liked this boy; He was always talking about him and he was always gone spending time with him. Now Phil knew what was really going on between them. He liked Derrick before, but now he hated him because he was hurting his best friend. Phil didn't like to see Dan hurt.

"I didn't want to say anything b-because I thought it would be a one-time thing but... it's been months now and i-it's still going on. I really love Derrick and I know that I should end things... but I don't know how to because I still have feelings for him," Dan explained.

Phil shook his head. "You may be in love with this boy, but if he's hurting you like this... then you shouldn't be with him. You deserve to be with someone who loves you just as much as you love them. Don't let him keep doing this to you, don't let him hurt you," He whispered.

"I want to get out of it, and I'm willing to. I just... I don't know where to start," Dan mumbled.

"Do you want to go to the police?" Phil asked quietly.

"No!" Dan yelled as his eyes went wide. He quickly shook his head. "Derrick my be a terrible and horrible human being but... he shouldn't go to jail," Dan said.

"Okay. Why don't you invite him over tomorrow," Phil suggested.

"Are you out of your mind?" Dan asked as he looked over at Phil.

Phil chuckled and shook his head. "No. Invite him over tomorrow and we'll talk to him. Just tell him that you aren't happy anymore. Derrick may be angry about it... but at least he'll be out of your life for good and you won't have to go through this abuse," He said.

"What if he doesn't listen to me? Or us?" Dan asked nervously.

"Then we'll threaten to get the police involved," Phil told him.

"Phil, I already said I don't want the police involved," Dan said.

"No... I said we'll threaten. We won't actually call the police," Phil said.

Dan took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay. We'll do that," He whispered.

"Come on, let's get off the floor. It's getting late, are you hungry?" Phil asked.

Dan shook his head. "I'm not in the mood for eating right now... maybe later," He said.

Phil nodded and then he stood up. He held out his hand for Dan and was relieved when Dan took his hand. Phil gently and carefully pulled Dan up to the ground.

Dan got into his pajamas afterwards and then he joined Phil in the lounge. "Phil?" Dan asked nervously as he sat down next to Phil on the couch. Phil was currently staring at his laptop, but he finally tore his eyes away from the laptop and looked over at Dan.

"Yes?" He asked. Phil knew that Dan was hurt and upset about what happened earlier, so he was trying to treat Dan like nothing happened. He knew that if he treated Dan like a lost puppy then Dan would be even more upset, and that's not what Phil wanted to happen.

"C-Can we cuddle?" Dan asked as he looked up at Phil. "Y-You don't have to if you don't want to b-but I just... I need somebody... right now, and Derrick isn't here-"

"Hey, shh-" Phil immediately put his laptop down and then he wrapped his arms around Dan and held onto him. "You know I'm always up for a cuddle." He whispered.

Dan snuggled into Phil once Phil had his arms wrapped around him, and he hid his face in Phil's chest. Dan had always had a crush on Phil, ever since they met each other for the first time in person. But, the crush slightly faded once he started dating Derrick. But, Phil was always there for him and was willing to help him no matter what the situation was. Dan was grateful that Phil has stuck around after five years of being best friends with each other.

"Thank you." Dan whispered before his eyes fluttered shut and he fell into a deep sleep.

Today was the day. It was the day that Dan was going to tell Derrick that they needed to end and that they couldn't be together anymore. Was Dan nervous? Yes. He was extremely nervous and he was almost a little scared. Scared because he didn't know what Derrick's reaction would be. But, Dan knew that Phil would be there with him every step of the way so he wouldn't be totally alone. Dan didn't feel so alone anymore now that Phil was helping him with this.

"Derrick will be here in 20 minutes-" Dan told Phil with a shaky voice.

Phil was in the kitchen, just cleaning away. He was bored so he thought he should just tidy up the house a bit to pass time by. But, as soon as he heard Dan's voice, he looked over and saw him standing by the door. Phil could almost see the fear in Dan's eyes.

"Hey-" Phil immedaitely walked over to him. "Don't be scared, okay?"

"But I am scared. What if something goes wrong?" Dan asked nervously.

"Nothing will happen. I won't let anything happen to you," Phil told him.

"Derrick has hurt me before and I'm sure he won't be scared to hurt you. I don't want you getting hurt because of me Phil. You shouldn't have to feel the pain that I've had to feel," Dan said. He took a deep breath as his eyes began to water up.

Phil shook his head. "You've gone through enough pain Dan. I don't mind taking a little of it, if he does try anything. Come here," Phil wrapped his arms around Dan and pulled him into a warm hug. "Everything is going to totally fine. Just remember our plan."

"Okay." Dan whispered as he hid his face in Phil's chest.

And so 20 minutes had passed and now Phil was answering the door because Derrick was here already. "Here we go-" Phil opened the door. Phil decided that he wanted to answer the door, just in case Derrick tried to mistreat Dan. Phil wasn't risking having Dan getting hurt. Phil looked up and bit his lip slightly when he saw the one and only, Derrick, standing in front of him. "Hi."

"Uhm, hi? Where's Dan? He's the one who invited me over," Derrick said.

"Speaking of Dan... we need to talk," Phil said. He stepped aside and then he led Derrick walk into the house. Phil shut the door behind him. "Dan's upstairs in the lounge." Phil led the way up to the lounge, where Dan was nervously sitting on the couch. "Dan."

Dan immediately looked over as soon as he heard Phil's voice, and he stood up as soon as he saw Derrick was with him. "Derrick." He said as he stood up from the couch. Dan purposely wore a short sleeved shirt, suggested by Phil, so that Dan could prove to Derrick that this wasn't a healthy relationship. Dan was nervous about it, but he agreed to do it.

"Hey babe." Derrick said. He walked over to Dan and kissed him.

Dan quickly pushed him away though. "Derrick, stop." He whispered.

"Okay, what the hell is going on?" Derrick asked, and Phil could definitely almost hear how annoyed he was in his voice, which made him slightly nervous. "Why are you acting so weird?"

"Derrick, please... we need to talk," Dan said. He took a deep breath.

"Does he have to be in here?" Derrick asked as he shot a glare at Phil.

"I'm not leaving," Phil said as he crossed his arms against his chest.

"Dan, come on-" Derrick grabbed a hold of Dan's arms and went to drag him out of the lounge, but Dan gasped and he quickly pulled out of his grip and stepped away from him. "Dan!" Derrick yelled angrily as he looked over at Dan. "What the fuck?" He hissed.

"I can't do this anymore Derrick," Dan whispered as his eyes began to water up.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Derrick asked, not taking his eyes away from Dan.

"I'm not happy anymore. I love you, and I wish I could fix this but... I don't know where to start. I can't take anymore bruises, anymore pain... we have to stop," Dan said.

"Are you- Are you actually breaking up with me?" Derrick asked.

"I need to do what's best for me," Dan whispered.

Derrick immediately looked over at Phil. "Did you talk him into this?" He growled.

"I didn't do anything. This was decisions and his decision alone," Phil told him.

"Are you being serious, Dan?" Derrick asked as he looked over at Dan.

"We're over Derrick. You've been abusing me for too long," Dan said.

"What are you talking?!" Derrick yelled. "Me abusing you?"

"Where do you think all these bruises came from?" Dan aksed, pointing at his arm.

"You deserved them all, you little fucker!" Derrick yelled.

Dan flinched as soon as Derrick raised his voice. "Derrick, please-"

"No, I'm going to make you pay. I swear to God-" Derrick went to raise his fist, but Phil quickly ran over to him and grabbed his arm, pulling Derrick away from Dan.

"You are not allowed to touch Dan anymore, and you are not allowed to leave anymore bruises on him. You heard what he said. You're done, so I suggest you leave," Phil hissed.

"Oh really? And what makes you think I'm going to listen to you?" Derrick asked, smirking as he stared at Phil. "This has nothing to do with you so I suggest you stay out of it."

"If you won't listen to Dan or me, then I won't hesitate to get the police involved... and I will make sure that you go to jail for abusive another human being," Phil snapped.

Derrick pushed Phil out of his way and then he stormed out of the lounge without saying another word to either of Dan and Phil, leaving Phil quite speechless.

Phil immedaitely looked over at Dan and frowned when he saw that there were tears pouring out of his eyes. Phil quickly ran over to Dan and pulled him into a hug. "Hey, it's okay now."

"I know... they're happy tears," Dan cried as he hid his face in Phil's chest.

Phil couldn't help but smile. "You did so good. You're so brave Dan," He whispered.

"I couldn't have done it without," Dan whispered as he looked up at Phil.

"Come on, you know that I'm always there for you," Phil whispered back to him.

"I love you." Dan whispered as he rested his head on Phil's chest.

"I love you too." Phil said as he kept his arms wrapped around Dan, holding him close.


End file.
